Been out of driving for 4 years, no company wants to hire me, including the starter companies. Any suggestions?

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epictrucking@reddit

Are you based in the Midwest and have hazmat?

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I think the company I work for is pretty fair to us. Wayne Transports out of Rosemount mn. We haul chemical and dry bulk goods. Most of our shippers are open 24hrs a day and our receivers are by appointment. your usually the only one there to deliver so not much waiting to start unloading. A lot better pace then most dry van/ flatbed hauls in my opinion.

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DrummingNozzle@reddit

Go to a CDL school and take a CDL refresher. They aren't hitting you now because insurance says you're a risk. CDL refresher course tells insurance you've polished your skills and are ready again.

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Keepitup863@reddit

Yea it's the only good thing about going to road master is they will help u get a job if u quit driving for a while they will retest u and get u rolling

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sledge07@reddit

Well for as much as they charge I’d hope so.

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Keepitup863@reddit

Its just around 7k. I was able to get by on Amazon paying for the school

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sledge07@reddit

That’s absolutely insane. Our program is $2400 for the same education. I still am blown away that they are able to charge that much

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ZipTieTechnicianOne@reddit

I got a 10k student loan for NTTS. Overpriced by a mile compared to the equipment we had to learn in but dammit we spent 9 hours a day just backing trucks in the winter and one hour on the road. It was amazing to me when I got to orientation how they had to walk people through low gear reverse, when I was an “expert” in high. You get what you pay for though. My first snowstorm or breakdown by myself wasn’t my first.

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sledge07@reddit

That’s wild too. We run an 8 hour class with 4 students max per instructor. They usually get about 20 hours of backing, with 15-20 hours of driving and anywhere from 400-600 miles. That’s per student.

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ZipTieTechnicianOne@reddit

If only we could get together as an industry and regulate specific training and testing requirements. Whomever “they” are would rather take a skilled driver out of the equation altogether, when you can get someone cheap and insurance will be happy cause the truck has the new gidgets and gadgets that make it “safe”.

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Elodins_Haven@reddit

I got my CDL the same year in 2020 but didn’t use it until I moved out of state and needed a new job in a new city couldn’t find anything, so I started OTR last September. You will find something just keep at it I had to do a lot of applications

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homucifer666@reddit

That last sentence is your problem; there's too many drivers for the amount of freight traffic the US has, and going to be worse with all the tariff threats being thrown around. We're going into a recession, and anyone who doesn't already have a job is going to struggle to get one.

Employers can afford to be picky about who they hire and keep right now.

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Q7017@reddit

That depends entirely on the sub-industry. That definitely applies to van/reefer (and maybe flatbed to a degree), but more specialized forms of trucking are still experiencing shortages.

Granted, a lot of the reason why is because no one wants to do them. People genuinely fear hazmat placards, heavy hauling, loading/offloading their own cargo, etc.

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northnorthhoho@reddit

That's it! I got hired at this place the same day that I applied, but it's way more hectic than just picking up trailers. I spent 5+ hours outside strapping down various loads the other day. I also spend a huge portion of my time on muddy bush roads.à¹

The market is oversaturated with lazy drivers (not an insult, I love the easy loads too).

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Mean_Farmer4616@reddit

what does that kind of hauling pay? I'm just a small business owner that may need a change soon without a cdl right now but do my own hauling of stuff and loading of everything. I have a truck registered as an RV so I can get over the weight limits since it's not commercial while doing my own thing. I've done tons of multi state wide loads. It's so cheap to do on your own, so the thought of charging people the quotes I've been given seems pretty nice. I could get my cdl back pretty easily and just bought a freightliner for no reason. I have zero issues doing loading or unloading, and with training don't see any issue with hazmat or heavy hauling.

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mrockracing@reddit

I get DAILY will train/will pay for endorsement emails. I think about it from time to time. My health problems are what make me say no. Tanker legitimately sounds great, if not for the hoses etc. Same thing with heavy haul. I'm not concerned about driving hazmat, hell I used to live next to a frequent rail accident location that had flammable liquids. If I had any reservations they were gone at that point lol.

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Barron097@reddit

I did foodgrade tanker, can confirm, fuck those hoses….. I had to stop, it was destroying my shoulders.

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Theworkingman2-0@reddit

WEVE BEEN IN A RECESSION

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DennisReynoldsGG@reddit

Bingo. And when companies say they don’t need drivers you better believe pay will go down.

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SkinnyG80@reddit

You are applying wrong, do you have a resume? I get job offers at least twice a week

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nowellmaybe@reddit

Schneider considers recent experience to be within the past 10 years. I was in the same boat (last worked in 2020) and got on with them. Then bounced after 6 months because $.38 a mile ain't paying any bills.

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Warm-Selection7281@reddit

.38 cents a mile is crazy

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Anathema117@reddit

You can go oil field. If you don't mind working 3 or 4 weeks out at a time and having roommates during your resets at a bunkhouse/mancamp. You'll be required to work in sketchy trucks and do some sketchy stuff though as far as logs go or being directed to take routes that skip known inspection stations. If you're desperate and know how to do your own PMs you can work for some extra sketchy places. Oil field is a revolving door. Just work at your own risk.

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hhhhhgffvbuyteszc6@reddit

Job market is very shit across all industries unfortunately

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icodyonline@reddit

Trans Am will hire you

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mrockracing@reddit

He said he was looking for a job, not a death sentence

/s

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icodyonline@reddit

lol. True. But it’s a place that will hire him he can get his experience and get out

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ConsequenceSweaty241@reddit

Yeah

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ConsequenceSweaty241@reddit

If you're out for 4 years you have to go back to driving school

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sledge07@reddit

Not if he kept his cdl active.

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ConsequenceSweaty241@reddit

He said he was not active

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sledge07@reddit

I didn’t see that part.

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Sensitive-Put-6416@reddit

Yard dog

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Unique-Ad-2544@reddit

I tried that when I got my license. Wasn't a single place in the entire state that didn't ask for at least a year exp to be a yard dog

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Abubble13@reddit

I got denied a yard dog position because I had no yard dog experience (6 month required) I have been driving for over 3 years. I don't get it

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Theworkingman2-0@reddit

Didn’t have that dog in you

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Strong_Wasabi8113@reddit

Lie as long as you actually have the skills and confidence to still be a good driver.

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AreaLeftBlank@reddit

Northern Indiana has a sizeable need for drivers. As someone else mentioned a pulse and class A is all you really need to get scooped up up here. I got my local gig with zero experience and a few months out of school so it's entirely possible.

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Original-P@reddit

I had to do 3 months with Western Express when I started driving again. They were the only ones who would take me. Even my recruiter “Donna” from Swift ghosted me.

Be warned though, Western Express will charge you a $2,500 fee if you don’t spend at least a year with them.

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Delicious_Peace_2526@reddit

When you’re rejected, follow up and ask if there’s anything you could do to increase your employability.. maybe get re certified by an accredited driving school… I’ve heard some schools do this at a big discount if you can demonstrate proficiency.

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mrockracing@reddit

Where are you out of? I just left Swift. They hired me after I had just under a year out of trucking, and a spotty work history to say the least for the four-five years experience I did have. I was out of Richmond.

Low pay, and their equipment is usually broken in some form or another, but they have to be just about the friendliest people I've ever worked for.

I've been in your shoes somewhat and it sucks. I don't plan on coming back to trucking again, and if I do, I have good connections at Swift, so that's probably where I'd go back to if I decided to. Other companies that might take you would be like Werner or Western Express, although from what I hear, you don't want to work for Western Express lol.

Best of luck to you, I hope you get back in, although I have to be honest, now is a sucky time to hop back in the seat. I hopped back in for five months total, and now I'm back out again. The weather is bad. The miles are bad. The people are bad lol. That might not matter to you, but for me, dodging n*zis and klan members every other week got old fast, and I can only assume it's going to get far worse. Not to mention the cost of being out there. With the parking situation being so bad, and showers and whatnot costing as high as 28$, it'll cost you at least 100$ a week just to survive out there, without having even had anything hapen yet, unless you don't shower, and be VERY careful with how you plan your meals/groceries etc, and somehow manage to always be parked up after 5AM and before 3PM.

But, hey, maybe I just had a bad time. I hope if you do get out there again, it goes better for you. Best of luck to you.

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AspNSpanner@reddit

I was out 24 years, UPS grabbed me at $32hr OT after 8.

That was over the Christmas season. I’m now back at a local company I drove for before. Local companies (at least in the North East) are begging for drivers.

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GroundbreakingSir386@reddit

XPO hired me fresh out of school with 1 month of experience. They trained over a month till I felt comfortable to do things on my own.

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darrelladair@reddit

Why you been out so long ?

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sum_say_its_luk@reddit

It’s slow as hell right now that’s why, places aren’t really hiring and the ones that are are being too picky and paying peanuts

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Q7017@reddit

It's all insurance. They control the industry now. It's only a matter of time before literally everyone is forced to run AI cameras too - they've already forced most of us hazmat carriers to.

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J0nn_D03@reddit

Swift would take you.

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MostOriginalNameEver@reddit

Lie.... Talk to a o/o to say is only been 2 years

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ExplanationThen747@reddit

Bro just lie. All these people do it fresh out of school and get jobs

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Zxynwin@reddit

Were you working during the time off? Gap in employment might be one of the things putting them off possibly

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Fuzzy1598@reddit

Look into a refresher course

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StalinPaidtheClouds@reddit

Considered LTL freight via a staffing agency? I could put you in touch with my last company before I quit for school. Temp work is still work and it wasn't all bad. Worked a few great companies and coulda stayed on with them, but didn't.

They do OTR, too. Plenty of other staffing agencies, as well. You have options, driver. Just don't expect great pay in this economy with all the H-1B's...

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